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This study investigated health-related QoL (HRQoL) and care-related quality of life (CarerQol) in clinically referred children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and their primary and secondary caregivers. The EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) and the CarerQol questionnaires were used to respectively measure health-related QoL and care-related QoL. Primary caregivers reported pain/discomfort (42%) and anxiety/depression (40%). In caring, they mostly experienced problems in the relationship with the child (84%), and in combining care with daily activities (51%). Children with ASD had a relevantly lower QoL. Despite negative effects, almost all caregivers (96%) derived fulfillment from caring for their affected children. HRQoL and CarerQol reports of primary caregivers and children were correlated, both providing useful information to ASD measurement and treatment.

This study explored differences in caregiver-child interactions following children's information-seeking questions. Naturalistic speech from thirty-seven 4-year-olds and their caregivers was used to explore children's information-seeking questions, the caregiver's response, and children's subsequent follow-up. Half of the families were low-socioeconomic status (SES) and the other half were mid-SES. Although children across socioeconomic groups asked a similar proportion of questions, mid-SES caregivers offered significantly more explanatory responses to causal questions as well as more noncircular explanations than low-SES caregivers. No differences were found in children's follow-up to responses given to fact-based questions; however, after hearing unsatisfactory responses to causal questions, mid-SES children were significantly more likely to provide their own explanation. Such variability in caregiver-child interaction may have implications for subsequent learning.

There has been limited study of the relationship between child attachment and caregiver wellbeing amongst children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined self-reported child attachment quality alongside caregivers’ report of their own psychological distress, parenting stress and attachment style, amongst 24 children with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s disorder (ASD; aged 7–14 years) and 24 typically developing children (aged 7–12 years), and their primary caregiver. Children with ASD were no less secure, but their caregivers were more stressed and reported more attachment-related anxiety, compared to typically developing dyads. Child attachment security was related to caregiver psychological distress and attachment style, but only amongst typically developing children. Impacts of emotion processing impairments on caregiver-child relationships in ASD are discussed.

Objective Drawing upon family systems theory, Burton's childhood adultification model, and Johnson's typology of domestic violence (DV), the objective of this qualitative study was to understand the adultification experiences of young adults who were exposed to DV while growing up. Background Exposure to DV negatively impacts familial dynamics, disrupting healthy boundaries between caregivers and children. Often associated with families experiencing poverty, adultification is a type of boundary infringement that places children in adult‐like roles to execute essential family tasks with potentially dangerous and developmentally harmful effects. A growing body of literature documents how youth are agentic in navigating their family dynamics and how abusive partners use children as abuse tools. However, adultification in a DV context remains understudied. Method Using a qualitative study design, the research team interviewed 23 college‐attending young adults with father‐mother‐perpetrated DV exposure histories who resided in the Southeastern United States. The qualitative data were analyzed using theoretical thematic analysis. Findings We identified five distinct yet interrelated ways in which young adults with DV exposure histories experienced adultification: intervening to protect mothers from violence, serving as mothers' emotional support system, shielding siblings from violence and conflict, caring for siblings' daily needs, and managing parents' health and well‐being. The young adults categorized as exposed to coercive controlling violence described more extensive adultification. Conclusion Centering adultification in the context of family violence provides a lens through which researchers, practitioners, and other professionals can understand how DV impacts family dynamics, including adultified children.

The importance of Early Childhood (EC) educators’ wellbeing has been brought into sharp focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, as educators have navigated numerous additional stressors while providing education and care services for some children and ongoing support for many others learning at home. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on EC educators’ wellbeing and educator-child relationships, as growing evidence shows the influence of these factors on children’s developmental outcomes.In July 2020, members of a Research Network of EC Professionals—who previously identified educator wellbeing as a priority issue—were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey included two published, validated scales: the Early Childhood Professional Wellbeing scale (ECPW) and the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (modified). Survey items about educators’ experiences during the pandemic were also included. Two hundred and thirty-two EC educators from across Australia completed the survey, mostly from Victoria where lockdowns were most severe. Linear regression analysis demonstrated stronger professional wellbeing was associated with less conflict in educator-child relationships and lower risk of staff turnover. This was more likely to be experienced by senior or more experienced staff. Although a negative impact of COVID-19 was reported, ECPW scores were relatively high, and organizational structures supporting professional wellbeing were most strongly associated with lower risk of turnover (r = 0.63, p < 0.001). Findings highlight that supporting EC educators’ wellbeing is essential for workforce retention, and for promoting quality educator-child relationships which are central to young children’s learning and development.

We report preliminary results of computer vision analysis of caregiver–child interactions during free play with children diagnosed with autism (N = 29, 41–91 months), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, N = 22, 48–100 months), or combined autism + ADHD (N = 20, 56–98 months), and neurotypical children (NT, N = 7, 55–95 months). We conducted micro-analytic analysis of ‘reaching to a toy,’ as a proxy for initiating or responding to a toy play bout. Dyadic analysis revealed two clusters of interaction patterns, which differed in frequency of ‘reaching to a toy’ and caregivers’ contingent responding to the child’s reach for a toy by also reaching for a toy. Children in dyads with higher caregiver responsiveness had less developed language, communication, and socialization skills. Clusters were not associated with diagnostic groups. These results hold promise for automated methods of characterizing caregiver responsiveness in dyadic interactions for assessment and outcome monitoring in clinical trials.

This study examined the role of sympathy, guilt, and moral reasoning in helping, cooperation, and sharing in a 6-year, three-wave longitudinal study involving 175 children (Mage 6.10, 9.18, and 12.18 years). Primary caregivers reported on children's helping and cooperation; sharing was assessed behaviorally. Child sympathy was assessed by self-and teacher reports, and self-attributed feelings of guilt-sadness and moral reasoning were assessed by children's responses to transgression vignettes. Sympathy predicted helping, cooperation, and sharing. Guilt-sadness and moral reasoning interacted with sympathy in predicting helping and cooperation; both sympathy and guilt-sadness were associated with the development of sharing. The findings are discussed in relation to the emergence of differential motivational pathways to helping, cooperation, and sharing.

Abstract This study tested the effectiveness of Promoting First Relationships® (PFR), a preventive intervention program aimed at fostering positive caregiver-child relationships in Native families living on a rural reservation. Participants were 162 primary caregivers (96% Native; 93% female) and their Native toddlers (10–31 months old; 50% female). Families were randomized to a PFR group (n = 81) or Resource and Referral (RR) control group (n = 81), after baseline data collection (Time 1) to assess the quality of caregiver-child interaction, caregiver knowledge about children’s social-emotional needs, caregiver depressive symptoms, and child externalizing behavior. After delivery of the PFR intervention or the RR service, follow-up assessments were repeated immediately post-intervention (Time 2) and 3 months later (Time 3). After controlling for baseline assessments, multivariate analyses of covariance revealed that caregivers in the PFR group had significantly higher scores on knowledge about children’s social-emotional needs at Time 2 (p < .01, η2 = .06) and Time 3 (p < .05, η2 = .04) and less severe depressive symptoms at Times 2 and 3 (both p < .05, η2 = .04). At Time 3, the quality of caregiver-child interaction was better in the PFR group (p < .01, η2 = .06), an effect that was moderated by severity of depressive symptoms (p = .05, η2 = .06), with PFR having the greatest impact at low levels of initial symptoms (p = .02). Results support the positive impact of PFR in a Native community and suggest conditions under which the intervention may be most effective.

There are several different theoretical and research approaches to the study of socialization, characterized by frequently competing basic tenets and apparently contradictory evidence. As a way of integrating approaches and understanding discrepancies, it is proposed that socialization processes be viewed from a domain perspective, with each domain characterized by a particular form of social interaction between the object and agent of socialization and by specific socialization mechanisms and outcomes. It is argued that this approach requires researchers to identify the domain of social interaction they are investigating, to understand that phenotypically similar behaviors may belong to different domains, and to acknowledge that caregivers who are effective in one type of interaction may not be effective in another.

Despite growing attention to resilience following childhood maltreatment, it remains unclear how the development of resilience unfolds over time among child welfare-involved adolescents. Further, little is known about the immediate and enduring effects of two important attachments in children’s lives, namely caregiver–child relationship and deviant peer affiliation, on resilience development over time. This study sought to examine the ways in which caregiver–child relationships and deviant peer affiliation shape developmental trajectories of resilience among child welfare-involved youth. Data were drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Latent growth curve modeling was conducted on a sample of 711 adolescents. The results revealed that adolescents’ resilience increased across a 36-month period since initial contact with Child Protective Services. Better caregiver–child relationships were associated with a higher initial level of resilience among adolescents, whereas higher deviant peer affiliation was associated with a lower initial level of resilience. Significant lagged effects were also found; caregiver–child relationship quality and deviant peer affiliation at baseline were associated with resilience at 18 months after. The findings suggest that interventions that aim to promote positive caregiver–child relationships and prevent deviant peer relationships may help foster resilience among adolescents who have experienced child maltreatment.